We travel back to Season 7 of Naperville Sports Weekly for the latest Vintage Moment. Entering the 2014 girls bowling state meet, Waubonsie Valley was widely regarded as the favorites to repeat as state champions. Under head coach Marty Miller, the Warriors won their first state title in 2013 and key returning seniors like Rachel Felton, Sara Barsotti, and Talyssa Melgoza all returned that winter. However, senior Julia Bond was the marquee attraction for the green and gold. She had finished in fourth place at the 2013 state meet, the best finish for any of our local bowlers.
The Warriors cruised to conference, regional and sectional team championships, while Bond won the individual medals. At the Cherry Bowl in Rockford, Waubonsie Valley got off to a strong start thanks to their four seniors as well as strong contributions from sophomores Violet Kirk and Veronica Dreyfus. Waubonsie stood in first place after the opening day ahead of Leyden, Rockford Harlem, and O’Fallon.
In the first game of the second day of state, Julia Bond put on a show, rolling a 299 to set the tone for her team. There was no let up from that point on as Waubonsie held a wire to wire stranglehold on first place. The Warriors finished with a 12 round score of 12,416 to win the state championship for a second consecutive season by over 200 pins.
Julia Bond won the individual championship in spectacular fashion. Her tournament score of 2817 is still the second best in the history of IHSA state girls bowling. It’s little surprise that the former Warrior went on to be a collegiate national champion and a four-time All-American at the University of Nebraska, where she now works as an assistant coach.
We have seen many great performances at the state bowling meet, but the dominance from both the team and individual level turned the 2014 Waubonsie Valley girls bowling team into local legends.
